


Dogs Know Best

by van_daalen



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Minor Violence, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 12:39:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11691813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/van_daalen/pseuds/van_daalen
Summary: For as long as Violet can remember, her life has revolved around two truths. One, she only loves her dogs. Two, her dogs only love her. But when a stranger sneaks into her camp, befriends her hounds while she sleeps, and messes with her way of life, she's left needing to reassess the only things that keep her grounded.





	Dogs Know Best

**Author's Note:**

> This fic follows one of my 'side' Couriers, a mischievous girl named Amodrea.

     When she awoke to the sound of yipping dogs, she immediately knew that something was wrong. Her hounds, her _babies_ , never showed anyone but _her_ aggression. They hated strangers- just like she did. Hated their faces, their twitchy hands, their piercing voices. Only good thing about them, sometimes, was the _taste._  Yes, Violet thought, strangers were only good for dog meat. But if her dogs were talking for someone other than her, but weren’t barking… The fiend snarled, brow furrowed, and reached for her rifle.

     “Violetta?” She called, anger making her voice tremble. To her surprise, her favorite hound didn’t come running the second she called, only deepening the tension she felt. Quickly she let out a sharp whistle. That, to her twisted relief, finally summoned a few of the dogs to her. But Violetta still didn’t show her mangy head, still audibly _playing_ in the distance. With a growl, Violet raised her gun, aimed it towards the sounds, and gazed through the dusty night-vision scope. “What the-” she mumbled, catching a dream-like sight in the distance.

    There Violetta was, alongside a few other hounds, happily accepting belly scratches from some human _mongrel_ instead of snarling and tearing into them. It was the last thing she would have ever expected to see. Her little darlings had barely accepted _her_ in the beginning- how could someone they just met get so close so quickly? Everything about the situation baffled her, almost enough to make her shoot the damn fool out of frustration. But no, she decided, this particular stranger might be good for _some_ entertainment.

     With a huff, Violet lowered her gun and made her way down one of the makeshift ramps. She grumbled a few things under her breath, mainly swears, still more angry than curious. The few hounds who had answered her call earlier seemed excited to go back down, and a couple even ran ahead of her. Their excited yipps only seemed to get louder. It wasn’t until Violet was a few feet behind the stranger that she could hear their speech alongside the dogs’ playing.

     “-a good girl? Hmm? Yes you are! You’re such a good girl, ya cutie!” The figure said, voice seeming feminine, tone lacking any sort of fear. Whoever she was, she was either foolish or oblivious. Had she not heard Violet approaching? Or did she simply not care?... Admittedly, the fiend didn’t really care _why_ she was being ignored, or really that she was being ignored at all. After all, she’d get that attention as soon as she put her gun- “Are these your dogs? They’re such sweeties!” The stranger chimed, not even looking back at Violet. _So she’s not_ **_quite_ ** _as dumb as she looks. Hmph,_ she thought, glaring down at the woman.

     When she didn’t respond, the stranger finally turned her head to get a look at the fiend, green eyes catching the light from a nearby fire barrel. For the first time in… well, for the first time that Violet could remember, she felt her heart skip a beat from something besides adrenaline or withdrawal. Her surprise must have showed, because the stranger tilted her head and started grinning. Once more the light framed her, this time glinting off sharp teeth, marking the edges of strong cheekbones, and exposing the shine of a lip piercing. It wasn’t enough to show hair color, but Violet was already too wrapped up in everything else to care.

     “Dog gotcha tongue?” The stranger teased after another moment, still grinning, an air of mischief swarming around her. Something about her gaze was utterly _magnetic._  Despite her hatred of humans, and her anger at being not only disturbed but _teased,_  Violet couldn’t help but let herself give a toothy smile. It was the same kind she gave her dogs- the kind that showed off her ‘fangs’, showed how serious she was, how _dangerous_ she was. Yet the stranger didn’t shift her expression at all. Just kept smirking, waiting for a reply, still petting the hounds that practically _begged_ for her attention. “If I tell you my name, will you tell me yours?... Heh, might as well do it anyway. Folks call me Amodrea, or just Drea if they’re feeling lazy.”

     Violet paused, squinting a little, and merely watched as ‘Drea’ returned her full attention to the dogs. They gave a few extra yipps, grinning in their own strange way. Letting out a little ‘hmph’, Violet moved to sit next to her, gently shooing a couple dogs so she’d have room to do so. Quietly she offered the hounds her own affection, shocked when none of them rushed to receive it. In all her life, she had never seen someone get the beasts to love them as easily as she once had, and the idea of someone earning their love even _faster_ than she had made her head spin. A rumble rose up in her chest, gnawing at her heart. For the first time that night she felt like speaking; if only to fill the cold night air with warmth.

     “They like you,” she growled, expecting a flinch but getting none. Amodrea just smiled more, not even sending a glance in her direction. “They don’t like anyone,” she added, throwing as much venom into her voice as she possibly could.

     “What about you?... They at least consider you the boss- just look at their body posture!” Amodrea replied, this time giving Violet a gentle nudge before gesturing at a few of the hounds. Her words meant little to the fiend, but she had hardly paid them any attention in the first place. “Say, my new, very quiet friend, if these lovelies don’t usually like folks, but fancy a strange lass like me… do you think it means something?” Violet wasn’t sure what part made her frown- her being called a friend, or the nonsense that was the woman’s speech.

     “Don’t be stupid,” she snapped, looking away from Drea, as to not get lost in those murky eyes. It worked, thankfully, though it certainly didn’t save her from the soft chuckle that melted her heart. What was with this stranger? Try as she might, Violet couldn’t understand how the woman managed to soothe both her and her hounds’ tempers. Of course, the truth lay in the fact that she had always trusted her darlings, and if _they_ trusted Amodrea, than how could she refuse them a chance?... “They’ll get bored of you,” she started to say, finally looking back, gaze steady, “and when they do, they’ll eat good. Maybe I will too. For now… call me Violet.”

     With that, Amodrea gave her best grin, and the fiend could do naught but return it.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a writing challenge on Tumblr, for Day 2: Rare Pair.


End file.
